Dental instrument stand having a handpiece holder unit



A ril 25, 1961 E. A. BEHNE ETAL 2,980,999

DENTAL INSTRUMENT STAND HAVING A HANDPIECE HOLDER UNIT Filed Nov. 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A/ Ill, 14 i I 17 15 \J h E 5* 73 2+ 1 L17 2.9 I 22 I 20 r 26 I I l l Fig.3 l

Jzuergior-i ms; wy f Jew April 25, 1961 E. A. BEHNE ET AL 2,980,999

DENTAL INSTRUMENT STAND HAVING A HANDPIECE HOLDER UNIT Filed Nov. 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2,980,999 Patented Apr. 25, 1961- DENTAL INSTRUMENT STAND HAVING A HAND- PIECE HOLDER UNIT Ernst August Behue and Wilhelm Ohlrogge, Erlangen,

Germany, assignors to Siemens-Reiniger-Werke Aktiengesellschaft, Erlangen, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Nov. 26, 1956, Ser. No. 624,336

11 Claims. (CI. 32-22) The present invention relates to a dental instrument stand having a holder unit which is swingable about a vertical axis for syringe handpieces and the like. In connection with such instrument stands, it is customary to keep the handpieces, ready to be gripped, in tubular mounts which are combined into a single unit and supported with the rest of the instruments on ring guides arranged above one another around a tubular shaft arranged in the central longitudinal axis of the instrument stand.

With this arrangement of the swivel axis of the holder unit, it is disadvantageous that the hoses to the handpieces upon entrance into the instrument stands must be guided through a horizontal slot in the inside of the tubular swivel shaft and immediately after entrance into the instrument stand over various guide rollers up to the side walls before they can be clamped there by the known tubing guide devices. The carrying capacity of the shaft for the instruments arranged higher up (drill, X-ray device, operating lamp, etc,) is considerably reduced by a large slit. For this reason and since upon swinging over more than 45 out of the central position, the danger already exists that the tubing will spring off from the guide rollers, the width of swing of the holders is in known instrument stands limited and fixed by mechanical stops. The instrument stands must have their front plane directed towards the center of the dental chair for the patient so that on the one hand the handpieces placed in the holders can be swung away against the dental spittoon in order to prevent unimpeded access to and away from the patient and so that on the other hand when swung towards the other side they face the treating dentist ready to be grasped by him. This situation introduces the danger of interference with expectoration of the patient by the backward swung handpieces.

It is also disadvantageous that the instrument stand must be set up close alongside the patients chair in order to bring the handpieces as close as possible to the dentist; access by the dentist and his assistant to the patients chair is thereby blocked and the cleaning of the instrument stand and the space between it and the patients chair is made very difiicult. To be sure, it is in principle possible to arrange the instrument stand at a greater distance from the patients or dental chair and to use a handpiece holder having a larger reach with respect to the swivel axis, but due to the further extending handpiece support accessibility to the dental chair is also reduced so that no progress is obtained.

These disadvantages are eliminated by the present invention by moving the swivel shaft axis of the holder unit out of the longitudinal axisof the instrument stand towards the front surface.

The advantage is thereby obtained that the customary length of overhang with respect to the swivel axis brings the handpieces considerably closer to the dental chair than in the case of the known support of the swinging shaft in the longitudinal axis of the instrument stand. Accordingly, there is possible a greater selection of positions for the dental chair with respect to the instrument stand, in which positions the handpieces are closer to the treating dentist than in the previously known arrangements. At the same time, the guiding of the tubing is simpler than in the case of instrument stands having handpiece holders which are swingable about the central longitudinal axis, since thehoses can be guided downward and clamped along the front wall of the instrument stand without coming into contact with the instruments built into the inside of the instrument stand or having to go around them by means of complicated deflecting link devices. There results a greater range of swing for the holders so that the holders can now be also swung in a direction opposite that which was previously customary, namely also in the direction facing away from the dental spittoon. This eliminates the danger that the patient will be impeded in expectorating by the swung syringe nozzles and makes the dental chair more readily accessible.

Other features of the invention are concerned with the mutual arrangement of a plurality of tubular handpiece holders in the holder unit.

In known holder units, the individual holders are substantially of the same length and arranged at the same height alongside of each other, spread apart, and extending with the same inclination with respect to the horizontal plane. The handpieces either lie close alongside of each other so that it is ditficult to grasp them conveniently with ones entire hand, or they are so greatly spread apart that the range of swing of the holder, which, as it is, is limited, becomes too small to make possible unimpeded access to the dental chair. It is furthermore, in the case of the known instrument stands, detrimental that when grasping with ones right hand a handpiece,

which, when seen from the front, is located on the left, it is first of all necessary carefully to avoid the handpieces which are located on the right, standing in the path of the motion of the hand which customarily moves towards it laterally from the right. When pulling out and inserting the handpieces in the holders, there is also the danger of incurring injury by colliding with the adjacent handpieces or having the sleeve catch on them and unintentionally pulling them out, whereby the handpieces might be damaged.

These disadvantages are eliminated by the present invention which provides an instrument stand having 'a plurality of tubular handpiece holders disposed with their longitudinal axes inclined towards the horizontal and combined into a single holder unit, the inclination of the longitudinal axes of the holders differing from each other with respect the to horizontal plane. Preferably, the handpiece closer to the grasping hand, therefore, the right handpiece, as seen from the front, is supported at a greater inclination than the handpiece to the left of it. When grasping the left handpiece, the slightly opened hand can then be passed below the handpiece which is supported at the steepest angle so that all danger of injuring the hand on the upward directed syringe nozzle of the right handpiece is avoided.

The holders are in general arranged about 1 meter above the floor. There are particular advantages for the arrangement of the handpieces in an easily grasped manner at this height of holders the longitudinal axes of which have angles of inclination of between 25 and 45 with respect to the horizontal. The difference in the angles of inclination of the longitudinal axes of the left hand and right hand holder need in this connection only be 5 to 10". When the holders are arranged at a higher level above the floor, smaller angles of inclination are necessary and when located at a smaller distance above the floor, larger angles in order that the handpieces can be supported in a manner particularly easy to grasp.

In accordance with still another object and feature of the invention, it is advantageous to make the different holders which are inclined with respect to the horizontal of different lengths so that the handle parts of the long handpieces all extend out by the same distance. All the handpieces can thus be arranged at the most favorable distance from the dentist regardless of their length.

If additional supports are provided for endoscopy and cauterization devices, it is advantageous to make them shorter than the holders for the syringe handpieces and arrange them with only a slight inclination of their longitudinal axis With respect to the horizontal, for instance to in such a manner that they are laterally between the holders for the syringe handpieces. The corresponding supporting means is in this way arranged in the holder unit without increasing the space required for the holders of the syringe handpieces and without the ease of reaching the syringe handpieces being restricted even when an endoscopy or ca-uterizing handpiece is placed on.

The foregoing and further objects and features of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dental instrument stand in accordance with the invention with the treatment chair located in front thereof;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the arrangement shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view of a dental instrument stand in accordance with the invention, partially broken away;

Fig. 4 is a part view of the instrument stand in accordance with Fig. 3 seen looking obliquely from above onto the handpiece holder unit; and

Fig. 5 is a partial front view of a modified instrument stand with the handpiece-holder unit turned away.

Like parts are similarly reference throughout the drawmgs.

The dental instrument stand 1 is provided with the drill attachment 3 (omitted from Figs. 2-5) which is swingable about the central longitudinal axis 2, as illustrated in the range of swing 3', the swingable table 4 and the swingable dental spittoon 5, with the oral rinsing glass 6, the saliva ejector 7 and the water controls 8. The frontside of the instrument stand 1 is closed off at its top by the structural unit or mounting 9 made of cast material which comprises the projecting vertical part 10 (Fig. 3) with the nose-like protruding upper bearing part 11, of the recessed vertical part 12 and the horizontally protruding lower bearing part 13, and is connected in a removable manner by screws 14 with the frontsides of the U-shaped side walls of the instrument stand 1. It is in this way easily possible to replace the structural part or mounting 9 by another front piece even subsequently.

In the niche-like recess of the structural part 9 formed by the bearing parts 11, 13 and the recessed part 12, the holder unit 15 is supported so that it can swing over a large angular range 33 (Fig. 2) by means of a removable pin 16 and the cast-on tubular journal 17 about the vertical axis 18 which provide mounting means and which are located in front of the vertical part 12 of the structural unit or mounting 9. The front of the instrument stand 1 is in this way closed in a dust-tight manner and the bearings of the holder unit 15 are protected from dirt and tampering by the niche-like arrangement.

In the holder unit 15, supply elements, such as hoses or cables 20, extend over guide rollers 21 for the handpieces 19 to be described in detail further below and leave the unit through the opening in the tubular journal 17. They are conducted approximately in the direction of the vertical swivel axis 18 downwards into the instrument stand 1 so that upon the swinging of the holder unit 15 they exert only a slight restoring couple on the latter and thus there is no danger that the hoses 20 can spring off from the guide rollers 21.

At the front end sides of the side walls of the instrument stand'l, there is provided on the inside by means of the screws 22 the hose-guiding device 23 which comprises a frame 24 made of angle irons and vertical guide rods 25 along which weights 26 bearing the rollers 27 are displaceable. At the upper part of the frame 24, there are fastened the hose and cable intermediate members 28 to which there are connected the hoses or cables 20 on the one hand and the hoses or cables 29 leading to the air and water supply devices and to the electric power supply (not shown) on the other hand. The hoses 20 are conducted over the rollers 27 and are tensioned by the weights 26. Below the structural unit 9, the frontside of the instrument stand 1 is closed by a cover plate 30 which is fastened on the outside to the front ends of the side walls of the instrument stand 1 by means of the screws 31 and recedes continuously downward to the central longitudinal axis 2 of the instrument stand 1. After removal of the cover plate 30, the tube guide device 23 is readily accessible for servicing and repair.

Due to the downwardly and inwardly receding cover plate 30, the base area of the instrument stand 1 is kept small and the accessibility to the space between the instrument stand 1 and the dental chair 32 (Fig. 2) located to the side thereof is not reduced.

By the outward supporting of the swivel axis 18, there is also eliminated the danger of the hoses 20 being damaged upon the swinging of the holder unit 15. A substantially larger range of swing 3.3 (Pi g. 2) of the holder unit 15 is possible than in the case of the known instrument stands, namely an angle of swing 130 while the latter have a degree of swing of at most 90". At the same time due to the outward support of the swing axis 13, the holder unit 15 is brought considerably closer to the dentist who is generally standing on the other side of the dental chair 32. The instrument stand 1 has its front side parallel to the dental chair 32 so that the front side of the instrument stand 1 is more readily accessible. The holder unit 15 can also be swung away to the right so that safe ascent and departure of the patient is possible. At the same time, there is eliminated the danger of the patient being impeded upon expectoration by the swungaway handpieces 19.

It is now also possible to increase the distance between the dental chair 32 and the instrument stand 1 which is cusotmarily 0.50 meter both towards the front and towards the side, for instance by moving the dental chair 32 back. As shown by dotted line circles in Fig. 2, various positions of the dental chair 32 may be selected in which the distance between the dental chair '32 and the instrument stand 1 is greater than in the case of known instrument stands and in which the handpieces 19 are nevertheless more easily reached than in the case of the latter.

7 axis 35-35 at an angle of 30 and the central axis 36-36 at an angle of only 10. The axes of the holders are spread laterally apart and stagered in height so that they do not intersect each other. Their projections on the horizontal plane intersect at the common point 0: The projection 0-36 of the central axis 36-36 bisects the angle formed by the projection 0-34 of the right axis 34-34 and the projection 0-35 of the left axis 35-35. By this arrangement, it is possible, despite sufiicient spaces between the holders for grasping the handpieces 19a, 19b, 19c, to make the holder unit extremely small and to make the angle between the two outer projections 0-34 and 0-35 less than 15. As a, result, the hose deflecting rollers 21 arranged in the holder unit 15 can be arranged coaxially or at least alongside of each other in one and the same plane.

For supporting the spraydevice comprising the liquid container 37 of the modification (Fig. 5) and the compressed air handpiece 38, there is employed a holder 39 shown in Fig. 5. On the right, as seen from the front, there is provided, as in the case of the above described holder unit 15, the holder of the hot-air syringe 19a, the axis 34-34 of which is inclined at an angle of 32 with respect to the horizontal. On the left bottom, as seen from the front, there is provided the holder for the compressed air handpiece 38-, the axis 35'3'5 of which is at an angle of only 8, and vertically above it, the holder for the liquid container 37, the axis 4040 of which is at an angle of 55. The handpiece 19c is supported laterally between the spray handpieces in the holder, the axis 36-36 of which is inclined only 3 with respect to the horizontal. In the assembled condition of the spray device, the compressed air handpiece 38 which simultaneously serves as handle is accessible without obstruction through the hot air syringe 19a arranged to the right thereof.

Changes may be made within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a supporting device for hand pieces of dental apparatus, the combination of a supporting structure,- an instrument holder unit carried by said supporting structure, means on said supporting structure pivotally supporting said holder unit for pivotal movement on a vertical axis through an are greater than 90, said instrument holder unit having a plurality of instrument holders therein, each operative to receive the hand piece of a dental instrument, said instrument holders being disposed on said instrument holder unit to position the respective hand pieces of instruments supported in said holders at different elevations with respect to the horizontal to facilitate removal of a hand piece without interference from an adjacent handpiece.

2. In a supporting device for hand pieces of dental ap paratus, the combination of a supporting structure, an instrument holder unit carried by said supporting structure, means on said supporting structure pivotally supporting said holder unit for pivotal movement on a vertical axis through an are greater than 90, said instru mentholder unit having a plurality of instrument holders therein, each operative to receive the hand piece of a dental instrument, saidinstrument holders being disposed at different angles of inclination with respect tothe horizontal to facilitate removal of a hand piece without interference from an adjacent handpiece.

3. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting is removably disposed on said stand and form part of the front wall thereof, said mounting comprising wall means forming an inwardly directed nichelike recess with said mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit in said recess.

4. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand compris ing a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting is disposed on said stand near the top and forms part of the front wall thereof, said mounting comprising wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said holder unit in said niche, and wall means extending downwardly and inwardly from said mounting and forming another part of the front wall of said stand.

5. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, said stand comprising a guiding device disposed therein frontally of the vertical axis thereof, said mounting secured to said guiding device, said mounting forming part of the front wall of said stand and comprising wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said holder unit in said niche, instruments carried by said holder unit, supply elements respectively extending from said instruments, and means within said stand secured to said guiding device and operatively related to said supply elements for guiding the latter.

6. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting forms part of the front wall of said stand and comprises wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said holder unit in said niche, and instrument holders carried by said instrument holder unit and respectively extending therefrom at inclines at different angles with respect to the horizontal plane.

7. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instru ment holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed abouta vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting forms part of the front wall of said stand and comprises wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit in said niche, and instrument holders carried 'by said instrument holder unit respectively extending therefrom, the longitudinal axis of one of said instrument holders extending at a steeper angle than that of the other instrument holder.

8. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting forms part of the front wall of said stand and comprises wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said holder unit in said niche, and instrument holders carried by said instrument holder unit and respectively extending therefrom with their longitudinal axes disposed at different inclinations between 25 and 45 with respect to the horizontal, the difference in the angle of inclination of one of said instrument holders with respect to another one instrument holder being on the order of 5 to 10,

9. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting forms part of the front wall of said stand and comprises wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said holder unit in said niche, and instrument holders of respectively different lengths carried by said instrument holder unit and respectively extending therefrom at different angles with respect to the horizontal.

10. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, .said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting form part of the front wall of said stand and comprises wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means journalling said instrument holder unit in said niche, and instrument holders of respectively different lengths carried by said instrument holder unit and respectively extending therefrom at different angles with respect to the horizontal, said instrument holders comprising two holders for spray instruments and a holder for connecting an electrical instrument disposed between said two holders, said last named holder being shorter than either of said two holders and extending at an incline less than the incline of either of said two holders.

11. A vertically extending dental apparatus stand for dental instruments, said dental apparatus stand comprising a mounting forming a part of said stand, an instrument holder unit carried by said mounting for supporting at least one dental hand-piece instrument, said mounting including mounting means joumalling said instrument holder unit for pivotal movement disposed about a vertical axis spaced from the axis of said stand in a forward direction thereof, wherein said mounting forms part of the front wall of said stand and comprises wall means forming an inwardly directed niche with said mounting means jo'urnalling said instrument holder unit in said niche, instrument holders carried by said instrument holder unit and respectively extending therefrom at inclines at different angles with respect to the horizontal, said instrument holders comprising a first holder for an instrument operable by compressed air, a second holder for an instrument comprising a liquid container, and a third holder for a spray instrument, said first holder extending to the left of said third holder at a smaller incline with respect thereof and said second holder extending above said first holder at an incline exceeding that of said third holder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

